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August 4th, 2008
11:07 AM ET
The voice of the teamAtlanta Braves announcer Skip Caray did not suffer fools gladly, though he had to deal with plenty of them. There was the postgame caller who couldn’t understand how a player could receive an RBI for a solo home run. After a few attempted explanations, an exasperated Skip finally said, “I’ve told you thrice, sir,” and abruptly hung up. There were the idiocies of the late-‘80s Braves, such as an attempt to play one-season wonder Omar Moreno long after his one good season, or the eruptions of gopher balls given up by the patchwork pitching staff. Skip never sugarcoated the dismal play. And then there was the usual foolishness involved in broadcasting sports events, the side details and odd plays of Braves baseball and Atlanta Hawks basketball and even the strange sport of motoball (essentially soccer on motorcycles) at the 1986 Ted Turner-created Goodwill Games. Skip - he was always "Skip" - called it as he saw it. We loved him for it. (iReport: Send us your memories of Skip Caray) Skip Caray died Sunday. He was 68. There’s something about a longtime local sports announcer - particularly one who works radio, particularly one who works baseball’s lazy summer nights and Sunday afternoons - that gets into the soul of his listener. He talks directly to you, even when you can hear that voice out of every car radio and apartment window in town. The Dodgers’ Vin Scully, the Cardinals’ Jack Buck, the Tigers’ Ernie Harwell, Bob Prince and Red Barber and Skip’s dad Harry Caray - it’s a rare breed. The best of today’s announcers - the Giants’ Jon Miller and the Dodgers’ Charley Steiner and the Indians’ Tom Hamilton - have that same character, describing the game as if it and you are the only things that matter. For Braves fans, it was Skip (and I mean no disrespect to Joe Simpson, Pete Van Wieren and Ernie Johnson). It was Skip who had the last word on Sid Bream’s pennant-winning slide in the 1992 National League playoffs. It was Skip who told Atlanta fans the 1995 team had just won the World Series. It was Skip who announced the hometowns of foul ball-catching fans, Skip who encouraged listeners to walk their dogs if the home team was being crushed, Skip who reveled in the occasional off-color joke. He sounded like broadcasting baseball games was the best job in the world, and he was having the time of his life doing it. Because of his enthusiasm, so did his listeners. Thanks, Skip. - Todd Leopold, CNN.com Entertainment Producer
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When the Braves were on the other networks instead of TBS, my boyfriend and I would mute the TV and turn on the radio just so we could listen to Skip. He was a wonderful pastime and we loved hearing his corny humor...Watching the Braves won't be the same again without Skip.
i grew up listening an watching the braves when they were in the west(never could figure that out) and losing 100 a year til now. the constant in all that time was skip. i feel like i have lost a family member and his is the only voice that i've known. RIP IN PEACE MY BROTHER and ot coin a phrase from his dad...HOLY COW!
The last time I tuned into a Braves game on MLB radio a few weeks ago I burst out laughing when Skip asked, "Why do you suppose you never see Santa Claus and Batman in the same room at the same time?" What a classic!
What makes Skip's death especially sad for this baseball fan is that we're losing the great radio announcers. Guys like Skip, Vin Scully, Herb Carneal and so many others from the pre-TV era are irreplaceable, they're just more pleasant and pleasurable to listen to.
I think all that Mr. Leopold was getting at was that there were a lot of "fools" in the mix that Skip didn't have the time for. All one had to do was listen to the callers on the Skip's radio pregame to know exactly what that means. As a native Georgian, with all due respect for my fellow native Georgians, I can tell you that many of the callers were older, rural, not-very-baseball savvy (in some cases), and fairly slow on the uptake. Skip dispensed of these people in short order, but they kept coming back.
Either way, we will all miss Skip. All the best to the Carays. Here's hoping that TBS brings Braves baseball back full time one day – with Chip and Josh at the helm (and throw in Ron Gant for color commentary).
I started watching Braves baseball while attending U of So. Miss. in Hattiesburg, MS. I grew up a Washington Senators fan, my Dad taking me to games when I was young. After they moved to Texas (Bob Short still stinks), I didn't follow baseball until I got hooked on the Bravos and Skip Caray. One of his best lines he used, in my opinion was at the end of any top half of the fifth inning, "And now to the bottom of another fifth"!
Here's to you Skip, I love you man!
I absolutely loved listening to Skip Caray. I'm 56 years old and have listened to the best and he was right up there with the cream of the crop. During the 1980s I became entranced watching lousy Braves games that were made entertaining by Skip's wit and his byplay with fellow announcers. I'm not sure there was ever one quite like him before, or will ever be again.
I live in Phildelphia, PA and I became a Braves fan in 1988 and a lot of it had to do with Skip. That team went 54-106 and Skip keep it entertaining. The worst the team was the funnier he was.
He refered to the Bermuda triangle whenever a base runner would get thrown out between second and third base. His descriptions of movies on TBS were brutally honest, sometimes even geting him in trouble. The story of a travsvestite tring to pick him up in San Francisco was hilarious. He will be missed all over the country.
Like so many others I too was saddened to learn of Skip's passing. I grew up in Atlanta and attended the first Braves game in '66, and was on hand for many other wonderful events until I moved to Houston for a job. Living in Houston during the 14-year run was made easier by the fact that TBS televised virtually all the games, so even though I was 800+ miles away, I still felt like I was "home". Skip, Pete, Don and Ernie were a big part of that and I'll always have fond memories of those days, and Skip's wit and wisdom. It is truly the end of an era for me.
I 'll miss you skip. You have been putting me to bed since 1980 ( when Eastern Airlines was the official Braves sponsor). You were great. It won't be the same, say hello to your dad for us .
"Braves Win, Braves Win"
I always loved it when Skip would make up the hometowns of the fans who caught the foul balls. "And a lucky fan from Smyrna, Ga comes away with a souvenir..." Hilarious. Absolutely hilarious.
Atlanta has lost an icon. One of the best anywhere. Win or lose, he always added something good to the game.
Who can forget the playoffs of 1992 and Sid Bream's heroic slide into home? "Braves Win! Braves Win!" still echoes in my mind.
If there ain't baseball in heaven, I ain't going!
i was born in '89 first watched the braves in 1995. skip's voice was all i ever heard on braves games...gonna be hard to watch w/o him. maybe the braves can win the world series for him...that would be cool. skip....say hi to babe ruth for us and all the other legends of baseball. you will not be forgotten
Big time sox but lived in atl for a while and I grew in chicago with his dad calling for the sox then the cubs... Harry is a God here in Chicago and I can remember when cable first came to Chicago, I watched the braves vs I think the cards or dodgers in 1982... All I keep thinking was wow this guy is not his dad at all and I first BORING.. AS I watched more and More braves baseball I could not have been more wrong... Skip had one of the BEST voices in the game.. He would come across so authentic with his tone that I can just hear him now making a call... As I lived in Atlanta for several years and became more accustomed listening to him and Don Sutton call a game his knowledge, his passion especially for the city came out crystal clear.. I realized heck no he is no Harry then going back home to visit I would often find my self saying "and Harry is no Skip" lol .. Skip is a baseball treasure was himself no chaser and thats what you loved about him... God bless you skip and U and your dad enjoy calling them up there... God is gonna have his hands full dealing with us down here and trying to listen to a great broadcast from a magnificent father and son team.. God bless you Dutchie and Chip .....
Thanks for the memories Skip. Baseball will not be the same without you. Godspeed Skip.
What a loss. As a Ranger fan, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Braves on the Superstation.
I recall a broadcast at Shea against the Mets in the late 90's, and an unlucky pigeon was mortally wounded by a fly ball. Next inning, Ernie starts to talk about what a great place Shea is to watch a ball game, and Skip interjects, "Unless you are a pigeon".
Too bad today's broadcasters cannot hold a candle to legends like Skip, Harry, and others mentioned in this blog. Too many former players boring us with their stretched tales of the good 'ol days instead of entertaining us.
Duly noted, Mr. Juliette. I am a fool.
– TL
I'll never forget Skip's comments about the statute of his father, erected outside of Wrigley Field. It seems the Cubs decided to build a fence around the statue because Harry Caray fans kept leaving Budweiser beer cans all around it. As Skip said, his dad would have loved it. Skip and his dad were in a league of their own.
And I'll never forget Skip, despite his constant complaints about the "wave" interrupting the game, joining in with the crowd in a celebratory wave during the miraculous summer of 1991.
Or the tribute that Ernie Harwell - longtime Tigers' announcer - gave Skip when he made a short guest appearance a few seasons ago, annoucning "And a fan from Alpharetta walks away with the souvenir" after a foul ball.
I could go on and on. Skip was the voice of the Braves from the days of my childhood, when I had to keep the radio on low in my room so my parents wouldn't know I was still awake, listening to a game from the west coast.
One more - the night - heaven knows when it was - sometime in the '80s, that the Braves played until 3:00-something a.m. - into the morning of July 5th, and still had the fireworks afterward, waking up the entire neighborhood. Skip called the game "certiable" after relief pitcher Rick Camp, who had maybe 3 hits in his entire career, hit a homerun to tie the Braves back up and send it into the umpteenth inning.
You will be dearly missed. So long, old buddy.
You say that, "Atlanta Braves announcer Skip Caray did not suffer fools, though he had to put up with plenty of them".
What exactly do you think the phrase, "suffer fools" means, you moron?
My condolences to Skip's fans. I've lost my favorites in the past (Harry C, Jack B.) so I can commisserate. And the long time voice of the Royals (Denny Mathews) is great and my favorite but approaching the later years as well. All the great voices are leaving us. Hope they find endless games to announce in Heaven.
I will always call the wave the "Don Sutton Permanent Wave" thanks to Skip.
You will be missed, Skip. I think I've been listening to your voice since you first started broadcasting for TBS. It'll never be the same, or as good, without you.
I became a Braves fan in 1982, not so much because of the team because they were terrible then, but because of Ernie, Pete, and especially my favorite baseball broadcaster. Skip was a real piece of work. I loved his sense of humor but it was also his love of the game that came through so clearly. And he wasn't a homer like so many announcers, he called it like it was and always showed respect to the other team and their players. In the early days when the Braves were completely out of game after game, he still made it worth watching just to see what kind of crazy stuff he came up with. It's so hard to believe he's gone, it won't ever be the same.
You mention Jon Miller, Charley Steiner and Tom Hamilton but not Harry Kalas of the Phillies?? You've got to be joking; they should be lucky to be mentioned in the same breath as Harry the K.
My condolences to Braves fans; I'm sure they'll miss Skip as much as we Phillies phans miss Harry's late sidekick, Whitey Ashburn.
Agree that Skip's voice was one of the truly "magic" ones. He had a love for his game that seems, somehow, to be reserved only for baseball broadcasters. Maybe it's because there are so many games in a season, or that the announcers become part of our fond summer memories. Skip will be missed by more than just Braves fans.
P.S. Don't forget Baltimore's Chuck ("Ain't the beer cold?") Thompson and drop Jon Miller from the list. He, like Tim McCarver, is more in love with his own words than he'll ever be with the grand game.
Sorry to hear his passing- a really good announcer. However in announcing the hometown of the foul balls caught by fans-he stole that from Ernie Harwell!
BTW – I remember during a slow-inning on a Sunday afternoon he remarked out of the blue...."Why do smokers wear seatbelts?" Just silence followed until the next play action but those are the kind of things I won't forget..
Having been a Reds fan since I was born in 1974, I never heard anybody else call a Cincinnati game my whole life besides Joe Nuxhall and Marty Brennaman. The last couple of years, however, The Ol' Left Hander's health declined, and he gradually left his pal Marty(now a Hall of Famer) in the booth before leaving all of us earlier this year. Just a few weeks before his passing, he was out signing Makers' Mark Bottles with Marty for Reds Fans that sported the duos pictures (even though he had JUST been released from the hospital the day before). Although the new guys in the booth are very good (Jeff Brantley and Marty's son Thom), it isn't and I suspect never will be the same not hearing Joe "Head for Home" after each game. My condolences are with you, Braves fans, as games are never the same without the familiar voices who vividly bring them to life, using humor, honesty, and integrity. Just remember that the people may go, but the memories of the past are what grow them to legend.
Hold the phone, Skip Caray wasn't terrible, but he was no Dave Niehaus.
I feel bad for Braves fans.
Growing up in Philadelphia, I listened to By Saam and then Harry Kalas and Richie Ashburn as the analyst. i would occasionally listen to various announcers as I flipped across the dial from Marty Brennaman, Bob Prince, Lindsey Nelson, Mel Allen, Red Barber, Phil Rizzuto, Chuck Thompson, Ernie Harwell, Bob Elson, Jack Buck, and Ned Martin. Living in the East, I never heard Vin Scully except at World Series or All Star Games. Now that I have the MLB package, I like hearing his voice again.
I'm a big hockey fan too and I miss people like Gene Hart, Dan Kelly, Danny Gallivan, and of course Foster Hewitt.
It is with such sadness that I comment on the loss of the Great Skip Caray. As I’ve read through all the news today – after hearing of this early this morning – I was also shocked at the flood of emotion I felt at the most memorable call from Skip in the 1992 NLCS. See – I was at that game – as a fluke – with Steve Avery's brother. I sat 9th row behind home plate. (For those of you that remember those times) Halle Berry was just in front of me – and Evander Holyfield was a couple rows behind. In the ninth we thought all was lost and then magically the momentum swung the other way and it almost seemed silent for several seconds before the umpire called Bream safe. Not to go overboard but that was and still is the most brilliant "in-person" sporting event moment for me. The memory of that night will always be with me – since I was lucky enough after that game to hob-nob around with some of the players – at that hot spot American Pie out in Sandy Springs. I’ll never forget that night or the people I was with.
Of course during the game I did not hear Skip's call – I did hear it over and over again in the next few days being played on the radio. Although almost 16 quick years have passed – whenever I heard that voice while watching the Braves on TBS – or on the radio while visiting Atlanta – I always re-visited one of the most exciting things that ever happened to me. Actually being there for one of the Braves best moments. Skip always brought that back and I will miss hearing his voice. How I wish there were somewhere I could download that sound bite – (many won’t let you save it off) such a great way to remember – heck I'd put it on my IPOD. Rest in peace Skip – you were by far one of the BEST!!!! cr
Skip was the best,I grew up on the TBS telecasts and in the last couple years with no games on TBS and the same 'ol Yankees vs. Red Sox match up on ESPN and FOX and no Skip to listen to I've lost interest in baseball entirerly.
Sad..You named quite a few other great radio baseball callers, but forgot one in The Hall Of Fame..Harry "The K" Kalas...shame..he's done Phillies games for years, with former partner Richie Ashburn making turning a baseball game on the radio and the sound down on your TV a must. What I wouldn't give for another of Richies.."Oh brothers"! when a moronic play was made.Or him sayin.."Harry..I'm going down to grab a bat. Even I could hit this guy..replied by Harry's "see ya when you clear the bases Whitey." They were perfect together.Skip will be missed. I pray each winter I can hear Harry's voice on the first Phillie's game from Spring Training.
Skip was the best, I'm 38 now and its hard to imagine the Braves with out him. God speed and my condolances to the Carays
Love to see the Braves pull it out for him down the stretch.
I am truely saddened
R
I will miss skip's drier-than-the-mojave humor, his steadfast commitment to the game as it WAS and SHOULD be played, and keen mind for the game. I learned about playing and loving baseball by listening to Skip call games than I learned in any little league team or pickup game.
I am especially thankful that Skip was with us long enough to make lots of jokes at the expense of Turner Field's 40ft tomahawk chopping cow. You could tell he kinda loved it, but was kinda puzzled about its place in the ballpark. After all, Ted Williams didnt need a 40 ft cow to encourage him to hit.
Going to miss you you skip. Woke up the entire house the night you called Bream's winning slide.
no one has mentioned his coverage on nba games on tbs. i loved it. he was great on those broadcast.
To have Dave Neihaus, the cliche spewing machine of the Seattle Mariners in the Baseball Hall of Fame and not Skip Caray?
My oh my....something wrong with that
It's a very sad day today... You will be missed !
I was born and raised in Atlanta and I was raised on the Braves but mostly I loved Skip Caray. He spoke the truth no matter how bad they were playing. Thats the way it should be. I will miss him as will my whole family. I think I will be a Skip Caray fan longer than I will be a baseball fan.
We'll miss you Skip. Say Hi to my Dad(Wayne Hicks) because I know he's waiting for you to talk about the Braves.
Natalie Babb
HATE the Braves but LOVED Skip.
Another legend lost – we lost ours (Bob Murphy) and it hasn't been the same.
Fondly,
A Mets Fan
I grew up in Los Angeles, and the Dodgers are still my favorite. But, coming home after classes in college, or on days off tuning in to hear Skip and Don Sutton on TBS calling a Braves day game was always a treat. He was a great example of an announcer who knew how to use their color man; knew how to inject humor into the broadcast without it being a stand-up set. I had the chance to bump into him in the Dodgers press box after a game, and he was as gracious in person as he seemed to be on air. My sympathies to the family and fellow fans of the man.
I feel sad for all Braves fans today.
I am a Red Sox fan who lives in Los Angeles now. But I grew up in Maryland listening to the rival Orioles and their hometown announcer Chuck Thompson.
It wasn't until many years later when I learned of Mr. Thompson's death that I realized that, even though I was hating the Orioles, that Chuck Thompson had become a part of my childhood. I was sad that day, in much the same way I'm sure Braves fans are today.
The Braves were truly America's team . Our California family felt like part of the Braves family and we were saddened when we lost "our team" and our much loved announcers....but we will always be Braves fans because of Skip and Ernie. The way they used to banter back and forth, a skilled team of baseball with a comic flare. We were lucky to have met Skip a couple of times...Now he belongs to history...but oh...those memories are sweet.
Bless you, Skip and all of us in the Brave family.
there are those who don't get emotional about anything/anyone - but this is one person whose death has hit even the most cynical of people - he was a gem - he was ours - he will be missed
Growing up, my grandfather always wanted me to be a baseball fan so on Saturdays we would sit on his couch and watch the Braves. It seemed that every conversation we had was somehow interrupted by Skip and some play call. I did not become a Braves fan until college but I always remembered those Saturdays with my grandfather and Skip. In 1998, as he was dying, the last time I was with my grandfather, we watched the Braves on TBS and talked about the days when Dale Murphy and Hank Aaron and all the others kept playing hard, fighting through it all, even when they had no chance to win. My grandfather said that he would keep fighting, even though he had incurable pancreatic cancer, just like the Braves had done. I always meant to send Skip a card thanking him for the memories but never did. Still, I don't understand the infield fly rule but I think it should be changed!!!!
I grew up listening to the Braves and Skip Carey. When I went off to college in the mid 90s and was living in an apartment with no heat, no TV, no hot water, no furniture, sleeping on the floor, depressed and missing my family, I had a radio and would listen to the Braves games. Skip et al mad me feel like I was with friends and eased my loneliness. I'll miss you, Skip. You were a great friend even though we never met.
He is the reason I became a fan of baseball.
His voice projected his enthusiasm for his job and that transferred to the fan that was listening to him.
He will be missed.
Skip, thank you. You made summer nights in Ogallala, Nebraska a lot easier to survive when you and the Braves came to our cable line-up. My 3 kids and I watched the Braves every night as they went from laughing stocks to champions and we became fans for life. The joy we all experienced the night you made the Bream call still resonates as we all gather together again, 3 adults now and an old man, to say good bye to an old friend.
We will miss you.
I was shocked and saddened when I heard this news. I also grew up listening to Ernie, Pete and Skip calling the Braves games – in those horrible mid to late 80's years.
One moment that always stood out: The Braves were playing the Phillies and during one play Skip mispronounced Mike Schmidt's name as "Mike ..." well, you know. All of the announcers busted out laughing and couldn't stop. From that point on in the game, Skip never even tried to say the name again, announcing Schmidt as 'the Phillies third baseman." I remember when the crew switched from tv to radio that game, I did as well, just to see if Skip mentioned it or tried to say Schmidt's name again.
No disrespect to Ernie or Pete – but Skip was the voice of the Braves. I have so many memories linked to listening or watching those games....RIP, Skip. Say 'hi' to Harry for us.
That is a HUGE part of my childhood gone right there. I grew up in Georgia, and I got real spoiled having TBS carry the Braves for decades.
Since 1982, Skip Caray had been an integral part of my summer ritual – on the television, the radio, on the call-in show.
His nasaly delivery, the homer-comments that drew countless "worst sportscaster" awards – I loved it all, I revelled in it all. It was all a big F-you to all of the Braves haters, especially during the big 90's run.
I am truly sad today.
My whole life, Atlanta Braves baseball was sonymous with Skip Caray. I'll always remember his distate for Atlanta traffic (especially over the last 2 seasons, with the downtown paving project), his hatred for Fox National broadcasts (always delaying the first pitch), and his true love of the game. Even when the Braves were bad, Skip was good. The barbeque isn't bad, either. Thanks, Skip, for sharing your love with us. You'll always be my #1 choice for commissioner.
In the fall of 1991 I was a newlywed of 21, and our budget was so tight that we had no television. And yet I remember that time as a golden time. It was the miraculous Worst-to-First year for the Atlanta Braves, and every evening my husband and I would turn on the radio and listen to the Braves creep ever closer to a title. Skip was there with us, every evening, in our living room as we leaned in to listen to every exciting call, glued to our radio like a rerun of the Waltons. I learned to appreciate and to -love- baseball from his enthusiasm. It was a magical time, and Skip was the voice of the magic, and now, a bit of the magic has gone from the world.
This "Braves-fan-before-it-was-PC-to-be" is going to miss the voice she heard for so many late-night games, especially the amazing worst-to-first season and the 1995 World Series championship. Skip was a Brave, as much as the Murph or Chipper.
I hope Skip and Harry are enjoying each other again, and I bet they are side by side in the announcer's booth now!
I still get the goosebumps when I think of Skip announcing the last out in the 1995 World Series. And his deadpan delivery of jokes was something worth tuning in to watch each game day. My prayers go out to the Caray's and the entire Braves family everywhere.
I lost the announcer of my childhood. I remember how he used to say "some braves fans from....marietta, rome, etc caught that foul ball." For the longest time I thought he knew where everyone sat in the whole stadium. The bream call and world series call really stand out in my mind. Also him complaining about the infield fly rule and the wave. I also remember him reaming a guy when he asked him what a walk off home run is. You hit a winning homerun, you walk off...that's it" I will mostly miss him joking around but never laughing at his own jokes. RIP. You will be missed